Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Rating: K
Comments: Years after the anime/manga with no particular plot.
Untitled
Shikamaru/Ino
How could he be so incredibly stupid when all she wanted was for him to realize that he was perfect for Sakura?
Well - once he cleaned up. His hair was unruly as usual, though pulled tightly back to keep any strands from falling into his face.
"Shikamaru, don't you ever comb your hair?" she questioned testily, tucking her feet beneath her.
He seemed unmoved by the question, continuing to stare at the clouds.
Ino frowned, annoyed by his silence. He was always like that, as though simply waiting for her to leave. Why, it had taken her a whole ten minutes to find him - the least he could do was answer her questions!
"Shikamaru," she began again, her voice rising dangerously. He finally grunted, rolling his eyes to the side.
"Yeah?"
'Of all the...!' Turquoise eyes narrowed. "Did you hear a single word I said?"
He watched her steadily, apparently unaffected by her rising temper. If anything, he looked put out over the interruption of his cloud-gazing. "Was I supposed to?"
Ino suppressed a growl of annoyance, rotating her bracelet with tense fingers. No one riled her as easily as Shikamaru, with his lazily spoken words and singularly unsocial behavior.
"Why do you do this to me?" she demanded frostily, wishing she didn't feel the childish urge to poke him until he gave into her demands.
"Do what, Ino?" His faint exasperation filtered through the simple words, causing his teammate and sometimes-friend to pause.
Was she really that irritating to him?
"This," she muttered, finally casting her gaze to the side. She didn't want to see him when he looked at her like that, which was becoming more and more normal. It was as though he were disappointed in her, or just... just waiting. Waiting for something that she couldn't see.
Shikamaru blew out a breath and returned his gaze to the sky, not gifting her with an answer.
"I've been talking with Sakura..." she finally began, wondering if her voice shook as much as she thought it did.
He didn't answer.
"I really think that--"
"Why?"
She blinked, surprised by his interruption. "Why?" she repeated blankly.
"Why Sakura?" Shikamaru didn't bother looking at her.
"Well... she's smart, too. And she won't bug you much, really. She's calmed down a lot since..." Ino bit her lip. Saying "since Sasuke married Hinata" was taboo, even when the other girl wasn't around.
"That's your theory on why she's perfect for me?" He sounded so dry, so disinterested.
The blonde pouted slightly. "Well, I wouldn't set you up with just anyone. After all, you're..." My precious companion. "Well, you need someone who could understand you."
Shikamaru kept silent as she hesitantly put forth more reasons, each sillier and as weightless as the first.
And wondered how much longer he would need to wait.